Red Sexed Link Oppinions...

[4Kids]

Production breeds (including hatchery plymouth rocks) are going to outproduce heritage breeds hands down in the first two years of laying every time. Unfortunately, in addition to being egg machines these little hens are also cancer machines. We processed a few spent production hens this spring, including a few red and black sex-links, and we kept having "What is that?!?" moments while cleaning them as we found cysts, tumors, and internal laying issues in many of the production birds. They'll lay circles around a heritage bird the first few years, but the heritage birds will lay for a much longer period of time before burning out or developing reproductive related diseases so in the end it's probably pretty even as far as eggs over the lifetime of the bird.

Wow!

Actually I myself was going to order some ISA Brown, Red Rocks (hybrid RIR and Plymouth Rock) for egg production to beef up the production from my mostly heritage birds. My girls are home-grown mutts, mostly, but look like bantam black w brown breast, a grey chicken, some black hens with Americauna cheeks and beards, some Americaunas, a peachy coloured girl, etc.

Your post is quite illuminating! Perhaps I will go for the Buff Orpingtons and a straight Barred Rock and RIR, not hybrids? Would that help do you think?

To be honest, I am looking mostly for egg layers, and not as worried about meat after. My husband hasn't worked himself up to butchering yet. (They butchered often when he was young, and he didn't really enjoy it. I am up to try if he is.)

Do we know of any somewhat healthier birds--perhaps home-hatched and mated vs. hatchery?